Guard Dog

Children of Winter. The first 38 minutes are now playable!

If you have been following the project blog you know there are two planned romance options. I'm curious, do you guys believe they add any value to the story or is it a distraction most players skip. The reason I ask is they are a hell of a lot a trouble to write and get working properly. Do you guys believe they are worth the effort?

Another thought I had. Now that full party creation has been implemented it would be nice to see a team put together to re-create all of the old P&P modules. It has been done by various builders with mixed results but a team of 2-3 builders dedicated to just that would be very popular I think.

Some useful links for builders: NWN Lexicon Forgotten Realms Wiki Misc Lore and Errata Cheap Soft Copies of Old Source Material FR Chronology Free JPEG Map of Faerun Free downloads of old sourcebooks and material.

Aristes, just to give you a little character insight, Killian did not have a good experience in the Navy. I think that colors his view on this subject as much as his natural knee-jerk cynicisim.

Just a thought on module setting. Depending on they story you want to tell in your mod you can use any setting and no one would be more appropriate than any other. For example Tig, you were thinking of a a low magic isolated world (sort of a medevial setting). You can park such a place anywhere in FR and it is still appropriate. All the setting would do for you is provide a template for what the local enviorment might be like (desert, forest whatever) and provide an easy explanation about all the FR specific races and classes that will be running around. The nice thing about modding is that we unlike the developers have no obligation to maintain canon. Now that game changes a little in my mod because the premise for the main plot is created by the lore and source material. The biggest advantage for me in using an established setting is it takes some of the work off your hands if you want it to. If you want to set a module in a known city you can look up that city and find a map, a list of NPCs, backstory, etc right there waiting for you. You don't need to expend brain cells on thinking it up. However, if that is part of the process you enjoy the creating you own is the way to go. Heck, creating a mod is tough enough. I just like to have some thing laid out for me to just pick up and use.

Of course. I'm fair to middle in my scripting ability. I'd also like extend the same offer to join us at FRW if the Forgotten Realms is your kind of thing.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It is indeed, and this time I'm just going with "FR Derivative", so that I (and the player) can assume FRness, except for specific points in which it differs. I think that's the best way for me - I have no talent with art assets either so I can just use stock NWN2 stuff, but I don't have to read up on lore. I'm thinking I need to wait until my copy of SOZ gets here, which might be a while. Playing a couple of recent Hall of Fame mods to see what's out there. Christmas is pretty much over for me now, had a decent day with lots of people. No fancy stuff. I think my one gift is a kettle. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know. I've had some practice with the toolset and I feel pretty comfortable with it now.

It's a contract job from Tek Systems. They will not tell me who the client is before screening but a little digging around has convinced me it's Clear Channel Communications. The job requires expertise in FCC licensing procedures and requirements. Boring stuff. It's not a a permanent solution nor is it likely to lead to one but its a pay check until something better presents itself.

After some thought I decided my Christmas dinner will be a lightly grilled Yellowfin steak, 2 lobster tails (spiny lobster), conch salad with tangerine slices and sauteed zuchinni, tomatos, and mushrooms. You can take me out of Florida but I guess you can't take Florida out of me!

Good for you Tig! If you are interested in the FR setting you might want to check this out: http://www.forgottenrealmsweave.org/wiki/tiki-index.php Techinal and moral support and possible collaboration if thats what you want. I'm neck deep in building one myself.

My final word on the subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSnNHUaNR_8

I was at Pohang for Valiant Blitz 1990 and Team Spirit 1991. During Team Spirit I had to drive a hummer over to the AFB near Taegu to get a part for our Radar over at North Ramp. Sounds like I missed you by two years.

I only buy for my parents and my brother and his family. This year I just used Amazon, got everything on one site and had it shipped to their houses already gift wrapped. My mother has been asking me to go down to Florida and spend Christmas there but it's just such a tremendous pain having to board some of the dogs over a holiday. Plus I have a job interview lined up on the 29th. For the dogs I just ordered toys from Fosters catalog and I'll hit Three Dog Bakery tomorrow morning. For me I bought Storm of Zehir.

New Guns and Roses CD, Chinese Democracy. Next in the changer is Def Leppard, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge.

Which is quite possibly the reason why a majority of black voters supported Prop 8 in November. Lets face facts here, had the majority of black voters been against it it would not have passed.

The real issue with gay marriage is that people have not gotten used to the idea yet. It is now where mixed race marrigaes were 10-15 years ago. A few years from now it will be commonplace and most folks will wonder what the big deal was anyway. Just like mixed race marriages now. Enoch was dead on the money when he pointed out the wisest course of action will be to just let it happen. Forced social change is usually a messy business and as I pointed out several times it is a little dumb for gays to portray themselves as an aggrieved and supressed minority. Compared to the REAL civil rights movement, they have no problems.

Working very hard on my NWN2 modules. For those interested in that kind of thing check out the project forum here: http://nwcitadel.forgottenrealmsweave.org/...isplay.php?f=77

What? Do you live on another planet? Nope, the good old US of A, just two time zones east of you. And try as I might I cannot recall a single instance in US History where homosexuals have been treated with institutionalized discrimination like most minorities have at one time or another. I'm not talking about people, there is nothing you can do about that. I'm talking about using the power of the state to suppress liberty for a group. And no marrige does not count because there is no "right" to marry. The military would be a good example here but I also discount that because it does not exist for the empowerment of the individual and is a whole different animal than real life anyway.

I don't know if it is a choice or not. That is just my opinion based on my understanding of genetics and biochemistry, and animal behavior, which I'll freely admit is limited. However, the one thing I can say with absolute certainty is that it is not proven one way or another. If it ever is, it is. And if it is not genetic they should still be free to pursue that lifestyle if that is their wish. That whole "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" thing must apply to everyone or it applies to no one. Personally I find the concept of hating or discriminating against someone because of what they do in the bedroom a little silly. I also find it a little silly for a homosexual to believe their "rights" are being violated because they can't get "married". There are legal arrangements and domestic partnership laws in all 50 states that provide all the benefits of marriage with the exception of federal income tax filing (and they actually penalize married couples anyway). As for private companies not extending benefits to gay partners, most do now. Mine does. And at any rate, employment benefits are granted and paid out solely at the discretion of the employer. If company A won't extend benefits to a gay employees spouse, that employee can either take it or go work elsewhere. When you get right down to brass tacks, being gay is all about who you have sex with. That is it. There is no mystery here. Gays are not and have never been forbidden from working, voting, shopping in whatever stores they want, sitting where they want on the bus, or visiting any part of town they wish. Gays have never been subjugated, enslaved, segregated, etc. To compare the gays difficulties in getting society to accept them, and gain rights they already have to the actual struggle of minorities for basic civil rights is just absurd on it's face in my opinion

Heck, I don't even approve of Prop 8 as it is. You know me better than that. I oppose ANY infringement on personal liberty. And I really don't see what the big deal is about allowing gays to marry. And I can say that as a Christian and as a Libertarian. I'll pretend for a moment you were actually asking an intelligent question rather than tossing a firebomb at me. If an amendment that blatantly discriminates against someone on the basis of age, gender or ethnicity is passed by the voters or legislature of any state it would be a violation of a number of Constitutional Amendments including the 14th, 15th, 19th and 26th. In that case the SCOTUS would intervene because no state law can supersede the Constitution. It is the supreme law of the land. Prop 8 does none of those things. I do think it was wrong but it would be unjust for a court with no jurisdiction to overule the will of the voters. You will not like where that action leads. Gays are not recognized as a legitimate minority in this country or any other I know of. Whether that is right or wrong I don't know. Personally, I do not think they should be considered a minority because nobody chose to be black, or Asian, or white. Homosexuality is not (IMO) a genetic condition. It is not a disease. There is an element of choice in it. It is just what some people like to do and they should be free to pursue whatever lifestyle they wish. Thats my $.02

They had better not. Unless there is a component of the law that affects another state/nation/or guranteed rights enumerated in the Constitution the 10th Amendment grants sole jurisdiction of State law to the State. Perhaps an argument could be made that it is a violation of the Full Faith and Credit clause since some states do recognize gay marriage but that argument has lost everywhere it's been tried.

S. Korea is a cool place. I've been there twice. Mostly I just saw Pohang (not so nice) but I did get to see Taegu (beautiful) and Pusan once. Very nice pics Tig.

I realize this is totally OT... but this is the only political thread cooking right now and the story does not merit creating another. If you will all recall the ever popular US Presidential Elections threads we had, I stated several times that the very first thing the Democrats will do once they've won the congressional elections would be to vote themselves a pay raise. I was right: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/20...-Raise-me_N.htm They wreck the economy, I lose my job, they get a pay raise. Ain't life grand.